This exploratory study investigated the influence of grandparent-headed families on the academic performance of secondary school learners in Port Elizabeth education district. It draws on Family systems theory and Role Theory to allow one to understand the organizational complexity of families, as well as the interactive patterns that guide family interactions.These theories capture the essence of this study which argues that grandparent-headed family is a very important family unit that needs to be supported in order to function well and thereby giving a better parental support and guidance to those learners who are in need. The study was conducted in five secondary schools and also in fifteen grandparent-headed homes. The participants included sixteen learners, 5 Life Orientation educators and sixteen grandparents who are caregivers to these learners. The learners were interviewed at their schools, after obtaining consent from them, the school personnel, their grandparents and the Department of Education in Port Elizabeth. The educators were interviewed at their respective schools after they signed written consent. The grandparents were interviewed in a naturalistic setting, namely at their homes after they have given their written consent. Data was gathered using semi-structured open-ended interviews. Interpretive analysis was used to analyse the audio-taped data. The interviews were voluntarily and anonymity was guaranteed. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Socio-Education)

Among the many undesirable phenomenon within developing countries is „orphanhood‟ that seems to be precipitated by the escalating parental deaths mostly rooted in the devastating effects of HIV/AIDS and poverty. The phenomenological descriptive case study investigated the effects of double orphanhood on the cognition and learning of orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) living within child-headed households (CHHs) in Chipinge District of Manicaland, Zimbabwe. The qualitative enquiry is tethered on a multi-dimensional concept of constructivism. The triangulated data were collected through participant observations, open-ended questionnaire, interviews and focus group discussions held at four secondary schools. The purposefully selected participants comprised 20 double orphans and vulnerable children, four headmasters, eight teachers, one Education Officer and one Social Welfare officer, making a total sample of 34. The study employed the Tesch‟s qualitative model of data analysis that led the findings into five major themes, each differentiating into sub-categories. The findings revealed that though most OVC try to remain resilient within their orphanhood predicament, they continue to suffer loneliness, inferiority complex, stresses, anxieties, low self-esteem, lack of concentration in class and more negativity that militates against effective assimilation and accommodation of learning materials within their ecological environment. The situation affected both sexes and was exacerbated by poverty, need deprivation and overwhelming household and parenting responsibilities. As such, most of the children‟s voiced responses expressed great despondence over their predicament. Other older OVC were contemplating dropping out of school in order to work, earn and look after their siblings. Even though some OVC reported occasional receipt of aid through donors and the government‟s facilities such as the Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM), not all OVC were lucky to remain beneficiaries up to the end of their secondary schooling. vi Orphanhood was found to be a psychological deterrent to cognition and learning. Therefore, the local community, education administrators, policy makers, children‟s rights advocates together with the children‟s representatives should map out life-lines ideal for enhancing the cognitive learning of double OVC residing in CHHs. / Psychology of Education / D. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

The family as the basic unit of society plays an important role in the lives of individuals especially children. The HIV/AIDS epidemic has devastated the family structure which is already strained by other detrimental factors such as urbanisation and poverty. The increased death rate of young parents due to AIDS-related diseases has led to an escalating number of orphaned children growing in child headed households (CHH) without adult care. A qualitative study was undertaken to develop an understanding of the barriers that hinder the integration of orphaned children into extended family folds and to obtain suggestions on how to overcome these barriers. Semi-structured, face-to-face interviews were conducted in Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga Province, with a sample of children heading CHH, relatives of these children and social workers who were rendering social work services to these client-systems. The study revealed that the level of suffering faced by CHH began with the illness of the parents. This was further exacerbated by the death of the parents as these children were not absorbed by their extended families. Barriers that hindered the integration of orphaned children into extended family folds go beyond the extended families’ economic capacity to absorb the children. There is an interplay of barriers that are poverty related, relational and family related, culturally related, circumstances that are related to the orphaned children as well as limitations in social work service delivery. The findings indicate that CHH is not a good option to care and protect orphaned children as it exposes them to pervasive adversities with little resources and support. The integration of orphaned children is embraced as a good option to care for the children because of its potential value, amongst others, of enabling the extended families to relieve the CHH from the burden of care. From the findings of this study, practice guidelines were developed to enhance the efficacy of integrating orphaned children into extended families to prevent the CHH phenomenon.

This exploratory study investigated the influence of grandparent-headed families on the academic performance of secondary school learners in Port Elizabeth education district. It draws on Family systems theory and Role Theory to allow one to understand the organizational complexity of families, as well as the interactive patterns that guide family interactions.These theories capture the essence of this study which argues that grandparent-headed family is a very important family unit that needs to be supported in order to function well and thereby giving a better parental support and guidance to those learners who are in need. The study was conducted in five secondary schools and also in fifteen grandparent-headed homes. The participants included sixteen learners, 5 Life Orientation educators and sixteen grandparents who are caregivers to these learners. The learners were interviewed at their schools, after obtaining consent from them, the school personnel, their grandparents and the Department of Education in Port Elizabeth. The educators were interviewed at their respective schools after they signed written consent. The grandparents were interviewed in a naturalistic setting, namely at their homes after they have given their written consent. Data was gathered using semi-structured open-ended interviews. Interpretive analysis was used to analyse the audio-taped data. The interviews were voluntarily and anonymity was guaranteed. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Socio-Education)

Various anchorage systems including both cast-in-place and post-installed anchors have been developed for fastening both non-structural and structural components to concrete structures. The need for increased flexibility in the design of new structures and strengthening of existing concrete structures has led to increased use of various metallic anchors in practice. Although millions of fasteners are used each year in the construction industry around the world, knowledge of the fastening technology remains poor. In a sustainable society, buildings and structures must, from time to time, be adjusted to meet new demands. Loads on structures must, in general, be increased to comply with new demands, and the structural components and the structural connections must also be upgraded. From the structural connection point of view, the adequacy of the current fastenings for the intended increased load must be determined, and inadequate fastenings must either be replaced or upgraded. The current design models are generally believed to be conservative, although the extent of this behavior is not very clear. To address these issues, the current models must be refined to allow the design of new fastenings and also the assessment of current anchorage systems in practice. The research presented in this thesis consists of numerical and experimental studies of the load-carrying capacity of anchors in concrete structures. Two different types of anchors were studied: (I) cast-in-place headed anchors, and (II) post-installed adhesive anchors. This research focused particularly on the tensile load-carrying capacity of cast-in-place headed anchors and also on the sustained tension loading performance of post-installed adhesive anchors. The overall objective of this research was to provide knowledge for the development of improved methods of designing new fastening systems and assessing the current anchorage systems in practice. For the cast-in-place headed anchors (I), the influence of various parameters including the size of anchor head, thickness of concrete member, amount of orthogonal surface reinforcement, presence of concrete cracks, concrete compressive strength, and addition of steel fibers to concrete were studied. Among these parameters, the influence of the anchor head size, member thickness, surface reinforcement, and cracked concrete was initially evaluated via numerical analysis of headed anchors at various embedment depths. Although these parameters have considerable influence on the anchorage capacity and performance, this influence is not explicitly considered by the current design models. The numerical results showed that the tensile breakout capacity of headed anchors increases with increasing member thickness and/or increasing size of the anchor head or the use of orthogonal surface reinforcement. However, their capacity decreased considerably in cracked concrete. Based on the numerical results, the current theoretical model for the tensile breakout capacity of headed anchors was extended by incorporating several modification factors that take the influence of the investigated parameters into account. In addition, a supplementary experimental study was performed to verify the numerically obtained findings and the proposed refined model. The experimental results corresponded closely to the numerical results, both in terms of failure load and failure pattern, thereby confirming the validity of the proposed model. The validity of the model was further confirmed through experimental results reported in the literature. Additional experiments were performed to determine the influence of the concrete compressive strength and the addition of steel fiber to concrete on the anchorage capacity and performance. These experiments showed that the anchorage capacity and stiffness increase considerably with increasing concrete compressive strength, but the ductility of the anchor decreases. However, the anchorage capacity and ductility increased significantly with the addition of steel fibers to the concrete mixture. The test results also revealed that the tensile breakout capacity of headed anchors in steel fiber-reinforced concrete is significantly underestimated by the current design model. The long-term performance and creep behavior of the post-installed headed anchors (II) was evaluated from the results of long-time tests on adhesive anchors under sustained loads. In this experimental study, adhesive anchors of various sizes were subjected to various sustained load levels for up to 28 years. The anchors were also exposed to several in-service conditions including indoor temperature, variations in the outdoor temperature and humidity, wetness (i.e., water on the surface of concrete), and the presence of salt (setting accelerant) additives in the concrete. Among the tested in-service conditions, variations in the outdoor temperature and humidity had the most adverse effect on the long-term sustained loading performance of the anchors. Based on the test results, recommendations were proposed for maximum sustained load levels under various conditions. The anchors tested under indoor conditions could carry sustained loads of up to 47% of their mean ultimate short-term capacities. However, compared with these anchors, the anchors tested under outdoor conditions exhibited larger creep deformation and failure occurred at sustained loads higher than 23% of their mean ultimate short-term capacities. Salt additives in concrete and wet conditions had negligible influence on the long-term performance of the anchors, although the wet condition resulted in progressive corrosion of the steel. Based on the experimental results, the suitability of the current testing and approval provisions for qualifying adhesive anchors subjected to long-term sustained tensile loads was evaluated. The evaluations revealed that the current approval provisions are not necessarily reliable for qualifying adhesive anchors for long-term sustained loading applications. Recommendations were given for modifying the current provisions to ensure safe long-term performance of adhesive anchors under sustained loads.

The study focuses on the experiences of learners who live in child-headed households at Osizweni Township. Through a qualitative inquiry I sampled five households purposively. Data was collected using interviews and questionnaires. These categories emerged after data analysis: needs of learners, psychological experiences, relationships with social support systems and the role change from childhood to adulthood. The findings revealed that children experienced extreme financial constraints after the death of parents resulting in inadequate basic and educational needs. These children were traumatized and left emotionally vulnerable, living in fear and isolation constantly. Relatives did not offer any support to these children but support from the school, community and siblings was evident. These children made huge adjustments assuming parental responsibilities and this affected their academic performance. It is recommended that more study is required on the development of a Community Support Centre to educate learners and parents on how to support these children. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

Among the many undesirable phenomenon within developing countries is „orphanhood‟ that seems to be precipitated by the escalating parental deaths mostly rooted in the devastating effects of HIV/AIDS and poverty. The phenomenological descriptive case study investigated the effects of double orphanhood on the cognition and learning of orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) living within child-headed households (CHHs) in Chipinge District of Manicaland, Zimbabwe. The qualitative enquiry is tethered on a multi-dimensional concept of constructivism. The triangulated data were collected through participant observations, open-ended questionnaire, interviews and focus group discussions held at four secondary schools. The purposefully selected participants comprised 20 double orphans and vulnerable children, four headmasters, eight teachers, one Education Officer and one Social Welfare officer, making a total sample of 34. The study employed the Tesch‟s qualitative model of data analysis that led the findings into five major themes, each differentiating into sub-categories. The findings revealed that though most OVC try to remain resilient within their orphanhood predicament, they continue to suffer loneliness, inferiority complex, stresses, anxieties, low self-esteem, lack of concentration in class and more negativity that militates against effective assimilation and accommodation of learning materials within their ecological environment. The situation affected both sexes and was exacerbated by poverty, need deprivation and overwhelming household and parenting responsibilities. As such, most of the children‟s voiced responses expressed great despondence over their predicament. Other older OVC were contemplating dropping out of school in order to work, earn and look after their siblings. Even though some OVC reported occasional receipt of aid through donors and the government‟s facilities such as the Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM), not all OVC were lucky to remain beneficiaries up to the end of their secondary schooling. vi Orphanhood was found to be a psychological deterrent to cognition and learning. Therefore, the local community, education administrators, policy makers, children‟s rights advocates together with the children‟s representatives should map out life-lines ideal for enhancing the cognitive learning of double OVC residing in CHHs. / Psychology of Education / D. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

The changing structures of families and the increase in the number of child headed families are progressively becoming noticeable both nationally and internationally. Reviewed literature has confirmed that the increasing trend in orphan status among school going age over the period 2002-2009, is of major concern. A growing body of literature also indicates that child headed families and orphan hood are becoming common phenomena in many African countries in general and South Africa in particular. This scenario presents certain challenges especially on the orphaned children‘s learning and schooling experiences as well as their behavioural and social interaction patterns. The phenomenon calls for greater educational support for such learners at school and home. Increasingly, teachers and schools world over are expected to respond to the changing educational environment and contextual realities of schooling that include the orphaned learners who head households. The aim of this thesis was to address the behavioural challenges that orphaned learners who head household experience and to develop a psycho-educational programme to support their learning. A qualitative instrumental case study research design was used with a study sample of 30 orphaned learners living in child headed household aged 10 to 16 years, ten Life Orientation Teachers, four members of School Management Team, eight members of School Based Support Team (SBST) and four Social Workers who were purposively sampled to participate in the study. The study was conducted in 15 classes located at four schools (3 secondary, 1 primary) in Taledi Area, Mamusa Circuit located in Ipelegeng Township of Schweizer Reneke town under Dr R.S. Ruth Momphati District-North West Province, South Africa. In order to answer the research question, data was collected using a variety of data collection techniques. These were semi structured interviews, observations and documentary analysis. Data obtained was analysed using the interpretational analysis method to determine the common themes and sub themes describing the behavioural challenges that the orphaned learners experience during schooling in the playgrounds and in the classroom. Data analysed revealed that although orphaned learners are socially strong with regard to interaction with their peers, they experience learning difficulties in the classroom leading to underperformance and grade repeating. The study also noted that orphaned learners exhibit negative conduct behaviours and negative social interaction patterns with their LO teachers and members of the school management team. The study also revealed that emotional problems and lack of material support are common phenomena amongst these learners. The study arrived at the recommendation that a psycho-educational programme to address the behavioural challenges be developed to enhance the academic performance of the learners. / Psychology of Education / D. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

A distressing consequence of the HIV/AIDS pandemic and of the increasing numbers of orphans and decreasing numbers of caregivers is the emergence in ever larger numbers of child-headed households (CHHs). The complexity of issues affecting CHHs and the lack of research on this subject means that CHHs are not well understood. This sometimes prompts support agencies to provide emotionally driven recommendations suggesting that it is better for a child to be in an orphanage than to live in a CHH. This exploratory study, involving heads of 105 CHHs over a 12 month period and 142 participants in various focus group discussions (FGD) and interviews, suggests the need for a change in perspective. It addresses the question of CHH quality of life, coping strategies and household functioning and attempts to bring this into a productive dialogue with community child care activities, NGO and statutory support and child care and protection policies. Research data suggests that the key determining factor contributing towards the creation of a CHH is `pre-parental illness' family conflict. Another contributing factor is that siblings want to stay together after parental death. Quality of life assessments indicate that despite significant adversities, over 69% of CHHs reported a 'medium' to 'satisfactory' quality of life and demonstrate high levels of resilience. As regards vulnerability to abuse, it is found that while CHH members are more vulnerable to external abuse, they experience little within their household. Contrary to public perceptions about CHHs lacking moral values, CHH behaviour might actually be more responsible than non-CHH peer behaviour as their negative experiences appear to galvanize them into adopting responsible behaviour. Community care and neighbourhood support in older townships are better established compared with newer suburbs. Sufficient community care capacity enables CHHs to function, thus avoiding a situation where households disintegrate and household members end up as street children. CHH coping responses seem to be mainly influenced by individual and community factors, and by social, spiritual and material support. The interplay between these and the CHH's ability to engage in the required coping task impacts on the coping outcome at household level. National and international government and non-governmental child service providers in Southern Africa need to recognize that an adequately supported CHH is an acceptable alternative care arrangement for certain children in communities with high adult AIDS mortality and where adult HIV-prevalence exceeds 10%. / Development Studies / D. Ltt. et Phil. (Development Studies)

Ethiopia faces large and growing numbers of child household heads, mainly due to AIDS-related parental deaths. Many of them are vulnerable to abuse and are forced to look after themselves and their siblings, drop out of school and find work. This exploratory study employed qualitative research methods using purposive sampling. The aim was to ascertain how child household heads affected by AIDS adapted to changed life circumstances. The study entailed fieldwork for five weeks in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, where evidence was gathered from 10 selected households headed by children (aged 12 to18), their siblings and key informants. It was found that all the children in the study are in dismal living conditions although some reported feelings of satisfaction and happiness. The need to provide special recognition and support to child household heads and their siblings by policy makers and service providers in Ethiopia is highlighted. / M.A. (Social Behaviour Studies in HIV/AIDS) / Social Work